The present invention relates to film recognition.
An important application in image processing is scanning film, such as positive film or negative film, for further processing in a computer. Conventionally, film is fixed in a film holder and placed on the panel of a scanner for scanning. Related information, such as holder size or position thereof, is transmitted to driver programs of the scanner. A computer connected to the scanner then recognizes the film images according to the received information.
The mentioned conventional method presents some drawbacks. For instance, film recognition is constrained by the film holder of the scanner. If the film is not fixed in a film holder provided by the scanner typically, the scanner cannot recognize the film therein. Moreover, the size and the placement of the film holder typically varies according to the scanner. Thus, non-uniformity may be considered inconvenient. Moreover, the related film holder information can be sent to the driver programs of the scanner for film recognition. When a different film holder is used, the scanner driver programs probably are changed accordingly for film recognition. Frequent driver programs changes may be detrimental to automated image processing.